Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Napping on the road makes for a great day, despite lupus!

About a week ago, my sister whisked me away for a day at the spa for my birthday. It was fabulous! We relaxed, we spa'ed, and we ate great food. And we'd do it again tomorrow if we could!

Planning the spa day took some forethought, and I appreciate that my sister was up to the challenge. The spa we wanted to go to was 90 minutes away. We knew we wanted at least 3 hours at the spa, on top of the 3 hours of driving time. So if we needed a total of at least 6 hours, hours that didn't conflict with my nap, we had some finagaling to do. We had a couple of options - leave early in the morning and get back by 2pmish for my nap; leave around 4pm after my nap and come back late in the evening; or drive out to the spa in time for me to take a nap, figuring out some way to take my nap on the spa premises. After my sister made a series of phone calls (how cool is she!), we determined that I'd probably be able to make something work at the spa. It was connected to a hotel for one thing, and if you think about it, a spa is made up a series of intimate, relaxing treatment rooms, all with dimmed lights and soothing music. While the spa couldn't guarantee me one of those rooms, they were willing to try and make something work. They even suggested the small library attached to the hotel. They were really putting their thinking caps on!

We drove out to the spa on one of the loveliest summer days of the year, and we arrived a little after 2pm. Upon check in, my sister mentioned the nap request we'd made over the phone, and the spa associate got to work on a solution. As I was finishing up my paperwork, she told us that I was all set - I could have a room until 4pm. Yippee!!

I gathered up my things, and headed back to my napping room. I didn't even change into spa attire (i.e. robe and slippers), because I wasn't sure exactly what I was headed for. I didn't know if it would be a storage room, or an infrequently used room, or a just-used room that had been stripped down. In fact, I grabbed a towel on my through the spa just in case I needed something to drape over me while I slept.

We wound our way through the treatment rooms, and I arrived at my napping quarters - a treatment room just made up for me! The sheets were turned on, the bed was heated, and the lights were dimmed. We muted the music, and the associate left me to sleep for more than an hour and a half. Plenty of time to rest up for spa day!

When I awoke a few minutes before 4pm, I was rested and relaxed. I rejoined my sister, who had been swimming and sunning and dozing in the various relaxation areas of the spa, and we continued with our afternoon. I was able to enjoy the amenitites of the spa, along with my treatment rested and without any fatigue at all. It was glorious! We finished up the evening on the veranda outside of the wine bar, dining on a delicious cheese plate (my favorite) and other savories. Katie drove us back and we arrived home before 10pm, just in time for bed. I couldn't have had a better day.

Had I skipped my nap, though...it could have been a very difficult day. I'm so glad we did what we needed to do to make it work!

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Sara Gorman

In 2001, I was diagnosed with systemic lupus, at the age of 26. I had been married less than 6 weeks and was at a highpoint in my career in television production. While I fought to keep hold of the life I'd known - demanding, yet fulfilling career, busy social life, packed vacation schedule - after four years of running my body into the ground, I realized I was fighting life, not living it. Thus, I downshifted almost every aspect of my life. I let go of my career and made it my number one priority to get myself back in good health. I'm proud to say that I've reached my goal, but work each day to maintain that healthy lifestyle. despite lupus. My book details the steps it took to reach that goal. A native of Indiana and graduate of the University of Notre Dame, I reside in Alexandria, Virginia with my husband, two young daughters, and pug dog.